Hirst Billboards, Food Fest, Vermeer: London Weeekend

"The Lady of Shalott" (1888) by John William Waterhouse. The artwork is one of a few dozen selected by the public to feature on 22,000 billboards across the U.K. through Aug. 25, 2013. Source: Art Everywhere/Bolton & Quinn via Bloomberg

Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Damien Hirst billboards, a foodie
festival, Vermeer, and jazz in Canary Wharf are our choices for
London this weekend.

STAGE

As many as 80,000 young people end up homeless in the U.K.
each year. The National Theatre is giving voice to a few.

“Home” is a patchwork of interviews that director Nadia
Fall conducted at a real-life foyer in East London. Her gritty
production is staged inside the National’s temporary Shed space
(the red four-legged structure parked outside the theater).

What makes “Home” stand out are the movement and music --
especially by beat-boxer Grace Savage, who mimics a newborn baby
one minute, an ear-splitting drum machine the next.

DINING

The new Foodies Festival at Battersea Park this weekend
brings together chefs such as Ian Pengelley of Gilgamesh or Omar
Allibhoy of Tapas Revolution. There are pop-up restaurants,
drinks master classes, a producers’ market and a children’s
cookery theater. The event runs all weekend, with tickets
starting at 12 pounds. Information: http://foodiesfestival.com/.

Izakayas are popular in Japan: They’re informal bars with
inexpensive food. Flesh & Buns brings the formula to Covent
Garden. It’s the new venue of Ross Shonhan, whose menu includes
tataki, sashimi and California rolls, as well as steaks and
fish: +44-20-7632-9500 or http://www.fleshandbuns.com/.

VISUAL ARTS

There are no more than three dozen known works by Vermeer.
Five are currently hanging in the National Gallery’s niche
exhibition devoted to the theme of music, how it was used as a
seduction tool and even an aphrodisiac.

Vermeer’s “Young Woman Seated at a Virginal” (1670-2)
looks innocent enough. Yet the picture on the wall behind her
shows a prostitute charming a client by playing a lute while the
procuress demands payment.

Don’t overlook the other Dutch masters and period
instruments in the show. “Vermeer and Music: The Art of Love
and Leisure” ends Sept. 8 at the National Gallery. Information:
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk or +44-20-7747-2885.

MUSIC

As London rock music fans make the 40-minute journey to
Chelmsford this weekend for the V Festival starring Beyonce and
the Kings of Leon, jazz enthusiasts will have less far to go.
The Canary Wharf Jazz Festival is free and features Soweto
Kinch, YolanDa Brown and Zoe Rahman.

OTHER LONDON OUTINGS

Some 22,000 commercial poster sites nationwide are letting
themselves be overtaken by art during the August lull. The 57
works chosen by the public are mostly modern and contemporary --
think Hirst and David Hockney -- though Holbein and Whistler
have also made the cut. Nice change from the usual ads for
underwear and energy drinks.